Rating: 
Summary: AmErICaNiSm - bOOk cHaT rEvIeW
Review: "Tar Baby" by Toni Morrison sets off on the Isle des Chevalier where Valerian and Margaret Street lived in the fancy rooms upstairs and the colored servants; Ondine and Sydney lived in the second-hand use furniture downstairs. Along with the other members of the household lived the servants' niece, Jadine, who stayed occasionally when she was away from modeling in Paris of New York. During the vacation stay, Margaret awaits for the arrival of her son, Michael who is supposed to show up for Christmas. But the cynical Valerian doubts his visit because of a mysterious reason. Amidst the waiting, one night, Margaret discovers a big black man hiding in her closet. Everyone is alarmed of his trespass, except for Valerian. Not only is Valerian calm of his trespass, but also invites this man to the dinner table. While Margaret, Sydney, and Ondine disapprove of this "nigger," Valerian gets to know him better and a special, but strange relationship develops between Jadine and the mystery man. Finally, Christmas time comes and the family still awaits Michael. Not only does his visit become questionable, but also trouble arises the dinner table when both the colored and non-colored are seated together. I highly recommend this book to someone who is willing to appreciate Morrison's vivid descriptions. Some drawbacks are the overuse of information, but is still worth reading. This book is rather complicated and keeps you hanging on what will be on the next page, but is worth the time to read.
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Summary: Hauntingly, Disturbingly Beautiful.
Review: "No, a star star. In the sky. Keep your eyes closed, think about what it feels like to be one." He moved over to her and kissed her shoulder. "Imagine yourself in that dark, all alone in the sky at night. Nobody is around you. You are by yourself, just shining there. You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself, it's not a twinkle, it's more like a throb. Star throbs. Over and over and over. Like this. Stars just throb and throb and throb and sometimes, when they can't throb anymore, when they can't hold it anymore, they fall out of the sky." -Tony MorrisonA man jumps off a boat and finally makes it to shore on an island in the Caribbean -- an island filled with images, past and present, disturbing and haunting, myth and legend. He discovers and falls instantly in love with a spunky sophisticate named Jadine. The story weaves its way through the island, the love story, and winds itself around Jadine's hosts and adopted family -- a rich, old-moneyed, Philadelphia factory owner and his wife and servants. While waiting for Christmas guests and family members, a fragile string is unwound which uncovers a deeply buried secret. After this secret surfaces, nothing is ever the same. Everyone present is caught in the tar baby of that secret, and the ramifications of its discovery affect everyone's lives ever after. This is much more than a love story, however, the love story is exquisitely passionate, memorable, enlightening and poignant. This author is a masterful storyteller, and she completely captivates with mesmerizingly beautiful prose. Want to know more? Read this beautiful and disturbing book. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: A satire with real bite
Review: "Tar Baby" may not be the most celebrated of Toni Morrison's many memorable novels, but, in my opinion, it's the most fun. Much of the story takes place at the Caribbean mansion of white millionaire Valerian Street. Morrison weaves a deliciously nasty psychodrama involving Street, his flaky wife, the Street's black servants, and Jadine, a young black woman who is niece to the servants and who has been educated thanks to Valerian's money. Into this mix Morrison tosses Son, a dreadlocked black man with a dangerous edge. "Tar Baby" is a frequently outrageous satire of racial identity, sexual politics, consumer culture, class consciousness, and family dysfunctionality. Her cast of characters is colorfully warped in an almost Dickensian manner. Particularly interesting is the portrait of Jadine, the black wunderkind beloved by her wealthy white patrons; I think of her as a whorish postmodern parody of early African-American poet Phillis Wheatley. As always, Morrison's writing is marked by passages of poetic power and grace. Check out, for example, this marvelous description of Son's hair: "Wild, aggressive, vicious hair that needed to be put in jail. Uncivilized, reform-school hair. Mau Mau, Attica, chain gang hair." Ultimately, I read "Tar Baby" as a comic tragedy of people trapped in a complex web of racial, sexual, and economic mythologies. Profane, thought-provoking, ironic, and rich in scathing humor, this novel is ample proof of Toni Morrison's writerly talent.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Morrison's Best
Review: After reading Tar Baby I was left a bit confused and not happy in the least. When you read Morrison, there is a certain caliber that one expects to see and this novel is completely lacking. It had an interesting plot but the characters were flat and uninteresting. Issues are brought up but not explored as they could be. Overall, I was not impressed with this novel. As always, there are beautful parts but certainly this is not her best work.
Rating:
Summary: Tar Baby
Review: Although I have read every book by Toni Morrison and feel that she is one of the most important and impressive writer of our time, Tar Baby will always have a special place in my heart. I have read this book about 4 or 5 times and it seems that with each reading I delve deeper into the plot, deeper into the psyche of her characters. While Jadine may be shallow on the surface, a "tar baby" constructed to keep the black man in his place, she is also made up of the substance that has held the black community together through so many struggles. Her counterpart, Son is a strong, black men and may never really find a place in society for himself because of what he represents. This book is about an unlikely love between two people that would have been a perfect match in a environment not motivated by race, class or pedigree. Tar Baby is the most underrated Morrison novel. It's a great read and I would recommend it to anybody.
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Summary: Captivating prose, thought-provoking racial & class conflict
Review: An above average novel that examines class and racial relations from often disturbing perspectives. Not only social commentary, but also a love story. Not summer beach reading. Beautifully written.
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Summary: A Book to be Cherished
Review: As I read some of these reviews, I cannot understand how one could bash such a great novel without truly reading it. Those of you that bashed the book, have nothing to back it up with. That is just common sense, though. This angle that Morrison took with this novel was innovative and creative. This is the first time Morrison has used white characters in a novel, and if you read closely, one could parallel some of Jadine's struggles with Morrison's struggle as a publisher in a predominantly white corporate world. As all of the other novels that I have read by Morrison, this one too has very strong in depth characters, that you could place in any setting and still have an enjoyable time reading it. The character development is exquisite and I recommend this book to anyone that wants a challenging and interesting read.
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Summary: Tar Baby; Morrison's most accessible novel
Review: Because of the trickster elements inherent in most of Ms. Morrison's fiction, her work is often misunderstood or difficult to comprehend. Not so with Tar Baby. Although her literary style is beautifully wrought in this novel of racial and social classism, the fact that the story is linear and conclusive makes it more assessible for casual reading. Ms. Morrison does not shrink from her task of showing the inherent difficulties of the social construct that Americans struggle with in their attempt to define self and others in a hierarchical way. She brillantly illustrates the schizophrenia that such valuations of pigment gradation cause us. She further enhances this intuitive disconnect by developing within the story class gradations. The offensive title of the novel is intentional and confronts the reader immediately with the racist history of the English language in America.
Rating: 
Summary: Lickety-split boring
Review: Good English skills, worth one star, rambling on in endless and trifle details lead to no conclusions in a mesh of decadent white masters full of caprice and down-to-earth-like-in-roots black servants. The one character that came through believable, is the queen of the soldier ants. Lack of phantasies and an absent talent of spellbinding make it utterly boring to the end, lickety-lickety-lickety split. gerborguta
Rating:
Summary: Lickety-split boring
Review: Good English skills, worth one star, rambling on in endless and trifle details lead to no conclusions in a mesh of decadent white masters full of caprice and down-to-earth-like-in-roots black servants. The one character that came through believable, is the queen of the soldier ants. Lack of phantasies and an absent talent of spellbinding make it utterly boring to the end, lickety-lickety-lickety split. gerborguta
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